Mornings with you
by Ella Inspired
Summary: Ray contemplates his relationship with Lemonade Mouth's rockstar revolutionary and wonders if handling the public of Mesa,dealing with overprotective fathers and overexcited mothers are worth being with her.Rayella.One-shot.


**Lemonade Mouth**

**Mornings with you**

**By Ella Lavender**

_So I found an unpublished Lemonade Mouth story in my memory stick, it turns out that it's one of the one-shots I took down. So I edited it, gave a different kind of plot and ta da!_

_I don't own Lemonade Mouth or its characters_

(^^)

Ray Beech had dates, flings and side ornaments; he did **not **have girlfriends.

The word was simply too permanent, too attached, too _committed. _And Ray Beech didn't _do _commitment.

He admitted to himself long ago that he wasn't the commitment type. Maybe it was all the cow eyed looks, the soppy 'romantic' gestures and the sudden drop in intelligence, it all made him sick. His male ego refused to accept being the instrument of some girl's fancy – doing tricks and lapping up the attention like a sponge; maybe that was why he hated it.

But that didn't explain what he was doing now.

It was only half past seven and here he was, dressed casually in dark jeans, a light blue button-up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and his favorite pair of Converse, and parked out in the driveway of her house. True his presence outside her house this early in the morning wasn't a surprise, and maybe that was why it scared him.

This morning routine started exactly a month ago. Exactly twenty-eight days.

It was practically second nature now.

And he didn't know whether to hate it or not.

Who knew that he, Ray Beech, hater of all things relationship involved would be doing this: picking up his _girlfriend _for school? Since when did Ray Beech over do anything like that?

Running a hand through his signature golden spikes, Ray let out a breath.

Damn her.

Ray Beech did not worry about things like this. Ray Beech didn't give a damn about any of this. In fact, Ray Beech should be at home still peacefully out-conscious in his bed. But no.

Ray Beech was currently sitting in his car fiddling like an anxious, love-sick puppy.

He wanted to hit himself.

His usually excessive male pride demanded that he go back home and pretend he was never here, but that argument was long settled and still he remained. Taking the key out of the ignition, Ray fiddled with it for a moment before he released an annoyed breath.

This shouldn't be so hard; he thought with some degree of agitation, this is practically the twenty-eighth time he'd done this. Why was this so hard?

Most people would never take Ray Beech for a nervous guy; heck the only words associated with him were more insult than adjective, but nonetheless, nervous wasn't one of the words that came up.

And yet…his car keys jingled in his hands as he held them.

Gah!

Damn her.

It was all her fault.

What did Stella Yamada do to him? What did that half-Asian, guitar goddess bewitch him with? Was it that lemonade she spat at him? Was there something in that?

Internally he rolled his eyes. Great. Now I'm paranoid.

The blonde soccer player finally knew the feeling that went through everyone else's heads when the leader of revolution band, Lemonade Mouth and their rival, Mudslide Crush, finally became exclusive, that feeling of disbelief and confusion.

The public of Mesa High were obviously surprised (read as: perpetually shell-shocked) that the two enemies decided that their passion filled rivalry was much better for things other than detention and suspension.

Of course Roxanne, Ray's annoyingly romantic older sister, thought their change of heart was deliciously predictable and informed the couple that they were pining for each other from the start. Whether they were or not, remains to be seen.

Everyone obviously had their own opinions on the when and the how.

Mesa High's rumor mill kicked into overdrive, and by the couple's first three days together there were exactly twenty-eight stories circulating throughout the student body, at least if Charlie's fangirls could be believed.

One story claimed that the whole relationship was a farce brought on by an insane dare, another claimed that the two teenagers simply 'bonded' in more ways than one during their morning, afternoon and weekend detentions, while another tale observed that Ray had gotten lucky and Stella was pregnant.

The simple insinuation that his girlfriend was fat prompted Ray to act accordingly before either Wen or Scott could stop him, he had vowed loudly that he'd knock that little punk's face off, which he did – Derek Lance had fifteen stitches and Ray had a full month of detentions.

He thought it fitting, and still did.

Despite the ridiculousness of these rumors, they proved to be a semi-hurdle for the couple, albeit premature at only a week.

There was only one true misunderstanding between the two involving this tabloid talk, but that was it. The fact that Stella trusted him was enough to boggle his mind, and proceeded to piss off the people trying to break the couple apart (cough- Patty -cough).

Hadn't she heard the rumors, the gossips whispered?

Hadn't she heard about Ray's deficiencies involving relationships?

Hadn't she heard about his habit of leading people on and leaving them hanging?

Ray chuckled to himself at the thought.

Of course she had.

Stella Yamada was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. She'd never walk into a situation blind to the challenges; Stella knew perfectly well what she'd go through if she choose him, and even then her decision was made.

Smart as she was, nothing would dissuade her from picking him, and he thanked all the saints for it.

As cheesy as it sounded, he didn't deserve her.

Stella thought of other people; helping them, standing up for them and fighting for them, Stella Yamada put others before herself. Obviously she had her selfish moments but her faith and kindness in others outweighed that. Stella Yamada was a good person.

Ray Beech was not.

This was the reason why he was currently freaking out in her driveway as he did every morning before he finally gave in and picked her up for school.

Ray was simply waiting for Stella to realize that he wasn't good enough for her.

What did he have to offer the revolutionary anyway?

Sure they had chemistry and attraction and he happened to know her better than her friends did, and maybe even better than her own family but, other than that, why would the loudmouthed guitarist choose Ray over every other guy that stood in line for her heart?

He wondered if one day he'd come to pick her up for school only to find out that Stella found some other guy worthy of having her.

Inhaling sharply through his nose, he wondered to himself why he was so worried.

The soccer player had many girls lining up for him, so Stella got bored of him, so what? There were still many fish in the sea, as he told Scott after Mo left him.

Pfth no, that wasn't right for his case, Stella was a vegetarian, not a fish. And if she had to be fish, she'd be freaking Nemo.

The thought made him smile slightly.

The blonde's insecurities aside, Ray and Stella were doing well as a couple. Sure they still fought like cat and dog, yelled and insulted each other at an hourly basis and would mercilessly tease each other at every opportunity, but as a couple they did pretty good.

He didn't feel like he was there to coo at her, compliment her or give her those cow-eyed looks. In fact it was far from that.

Stella didn't fuss over him like he'd seen Mo do with Scott, but she'd remind him to take care of himself and when he didn't, the half-Asian guitarist would slam a fist on his shoulder and demand he listen to her next time and stop complaining. She didn't need compliments, at least of the verbal variety, Ray knew from the first day that if you wanted to get anything across to Stella the Stubborn, you'd have to prove it, and that was one of the many things Ray enjoyed as her boyfriend. As for the cow-eyed looks, that depended on who you asked.

Many people caught the soccer jerk, front-man staring rather excessively at the revolutionary whenever they were in the same room.

Some assumed that he was looking for fault; others noted the subtle lightening of his ice-blue eyes and claimed it was adoration. Ray would yell at them all to go play in traffic.

Unfortunately he couldn't very well say that to Stella's parents, who he'd overheard a few times arguing about their daughter's relationship.

Thankfully, Mrs. Yamada was on his side.

She surprisingly thought as Roxanne had and happily accepted her only daughter's boyfriend with gusto. But it was the males of the house that got him sweating.

Timothy and Andrew Yamada, though not very close (or similar) to their older sister, were very protective of her. The twins spent ample time describing various ways of torture if their sister was ever hurt by the front-man; the fact that they were geniuses and described these methods very clearly made it all the more frightening (screw the fact that they were ten).

But if the twins were bad, Daddy Yamada was much worse. Ray cringed at the thought. Normally he was good with meeting a girl's parents (when needed be) but the Yamadas were something else.

From his pants' pocket, his phone signaled a new message.

**To Ray**

**From Stella**

**Are you planning on coming in, or are you just going to sit there in the driveway all day?**

He chuckled and glanced out the window of his car to find Stella sitting on the windowpane of her bedroom, her bright hazel hues twinkling right at him.

**To Stella**

**From Ray**

**Staring is rude**

She smirked in reply.

**To Ray**

**From Stella**

**Whoever said I wasn't?**

**Besides you're my boyfriend, I'm allowed to.**

Ray chuckled again.

**To Stella**

**From Ray**

**Well am I meeting you down here or do I have to climb up to your bedroom and get you?**

**I've been meaning to test those vines to get to your room in any case.**

He could practically see her brow arch.

**To Ray**

**From Stella**

**You don't think you can come by without seeing my parents do you? There are rules against kidnapping.**

Of course, pull the parents' card, the blonde thought with a roll of his eyes.

**To Stella**

**From Ray**

**There isn't on willing participants.**

**Besides, I'm not stupid enough to see them without you. Come downstairs and I'll meet you at the door.**

Ray was about to shove him phone back into his pocket but a new message appeared.

**To Ray **

**From Stella**

**Scardy cat xP**

He looked to her window again, a mocking glare darkening his clear blue eyes. His expression was matched by her teasing smile as she disappeared into her room. Ray shook his head. Stella loved having the last word.

The blonde slipped out of his car, locked it and trekked towards the front door of the Yamada residence.

Outwardly he was cool and calm, hands stuffed in his pants' pockets and eyes trained on the door, Ray exuded confidence and casualness, but inside the blonde was mentally bracing himself.

Mr. Yamada had that effect on people.

Knocking on the door, Ray prayed that Daddy Yamada or the twins wouldn't answer. He got his wish as Mrs. Yamada was the one to greet him. Her warm greeting relaxed him just before she scolded, "Raymond, honestly, what have I told you? Stuffy business associates and guests use the front door. Family and friends go through the kitchen."

He smiled back as she led him in. "As Mr. Yamada says: 'Kitchen is for friends and family **I approve of**, the front door is for work friends, guests and **boys I don't want near my daughter**'."

Mrs. Yamada rolled her eyes. "I apologize for him; I would think George would have stopped the whole my-precious-daughter phase by now. At seventeen what was he expecting, Stella to join a nunnery?"

"I don't think she'd appreciate being converted."

"You and me both," Mrs. Yamada said with laugh as they entered the dining room, Mr. Yamada's voice sounded from the kitchen, "Charlotte, where's the screw driver?"

"In the bottom drawer," she replied just as a loud pop resounded from the kitchen in reply. Her brow furrowed and Ray unconsciously took a step away from her, Stella and her mother shared that trait, piss her off and the first thing you see is that look of concentration just before she kills you.

"Oh for heaven's sake George, you aren't letting the boys do experiments in there again are you?"

"Of course not," Mr. Yamada denied as both twins answered in unison, "Dad said we could!"

Another sigh came from the kitchen as Stella stepped out. "They're testing for oxygen again," she informed her mother getting the woman to square her shoulders, huff and stalk into the other room, things confiscated and threats of being grounded sat on her tongue for both her sons and her husband.

Stella shook her head and winced slightly as Mrs. Yamada dealt her blow on the males of her family.

She shook her head again and smiled upon seeing her boyfriend.

"Now what's my stalker doing in my house?"

"Come to see you face-to-face of course," Ray responded, hugging her by the waist while her arms stole around in him in reply. "But don't tell your dad," he murmured in her hair, "he might just go through with his promise and stab me with his scalpel."

"Or a wrench, whatever's in my hand at the time."

Stella's breath teasingly caressed his ear as she sighed, pulling away from his embrace to turn around and deliver her father a stern look.

"Dad what did we say about threatening my boyfriend?"

"That rule only applies at the dinner table sweetie," he informed her getting her to roll her eyes in reply. "Do I have to get mom into this conversation?"

Ray almost laughed as a muscle above Mr. Yamada's eye twitched. "Fine," he consented, "but I'm allowed to threaten him if you aren't here."

Her eyes narrowed. "Dad."

"Now really George," Mrs. Yamada interjected as she appeared at his side, "must you start this again?"

The doctor opened his mouth to reply just as she cut him off again, "If you keep at it, we won't ever be able to see our future grandchildren and then what huh?" Comically everyone present turned to her. "What?"

Mrs. Yamada rolled her eyes. "Of course I don't mean now, that's what 'future' means," her eyes brightened suddenly, "Oh Stella, I just thought of the most perfect name for a little boy, hold on, I'll go add it to the list!"

Ray almost chocked on his spit, thinking in loud disbelief: THERE'S A LIST?

The blonde never thought he'd ever fear Charlotte Yamada more than her husband, but Ray also thought he'd never see the day when his girlfriend was rendered speechless. On both he was proved wrong, and almost numbly he led Stella out the front door just as Mr. Yamada's protectiveness reasserted itself with enthusiasm.

"Beech, let me make this perfectly clear, if my daughter is ever in the state of pregnancy, I will cut off your penis and strangle you with your testicles."

Now Ray really didn't know who to fear more; his girlfriend's mother who compiled a list of baby names for the future Beech-Yamada children, or his girlfriend's father who was planning on manually sterilizing him. Stella decided it was both.

The petite rockstar grabbed her boyfriend by the arm and practically dragged him away from her house, calling her goodbyes loudly over her shoulder.

As Ray opened the door for her to get inside his car, Stella commented, "You know, that could've gone better..."

"At least your brothers were out of the equation."

"Still," Stella persisted as Ray went around the car and got in on the other side, "Baby names, REALLY?"

"What scared me more was that she had a list."

"And my dad," she began with a look of torn between annoyance and indignation, "What the hell was that?"

"Uh, graphic assault?" Ray offered with a chuckle, the action causing a rebuttal from the girl beside him, "Beech, I'm serious."

"Relax Stel, he's just being a dad, protective to the point of homicidal," he soothed getting her to scrunched her face up in disbelief. "Cutting off your penis and strangling you with your testicles? REALLY?"

"Hey," Ray leaned over to plant a kiss on her cheek, effectively silencing her ranting. He smiled as he saw her train of thought crash in her dark brown eyes.

"I'd be protective too," he informed, pulling away from his girlfriend as he quickly remembered that they were still in the driveway of her house where her father was probably watching from the window and polishing his shotgun. "Probably much worse with our daughter."

Stella snorted despite the flush of pink settling on her cheeks as she ordered, "Stop listening to my mother."

Ray snickered. "Yes dear."

**FINIS**

**So if any of you have read 28 Days before I took it down, this is what happened to it. Anyway, I know it wasn't anything epic or sweet or whatever, but I really wanted to post this as my third story for the year. If you haven't read my previous one-shot **Love translated **I'm aiming to write three stories a month to keep my favorite shipping alive on FanFiction.**

**I also wanted to say that if anyone wants a request story, feel free to either PM me or leave it on a review, three stories a month is a lot for someone who's starting the eleventh grade considering most of my brain power is in storage for school…ahh the joys of higher education…feel the fun. **

**For those who are curious, I got the idea to do this one-shot from **Love translated; **some of my future one-shots will probably come from there too.**

**Anyway, here's to my amazing reviewers from my second one-shot of the year **Love translated: kitten008, The Resistance of Cygnus, LalitasLove, animefreak223, Kandykane07, Readingcutie428, ImagineTheWorldWicked **and** Bitter Sea Light.

**In case you want a heads up for request stories for the month of February it is predictably Valentine's Day centered :) **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Ella Lavender**


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